Black Friday Adventure

Today was the traditional shopping day called “black Friday”.  Instead of shopping, we took off for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. We were lucky to find a parking spot with a four hour limit, which is about as much standing that I can enjoy in one afternoon. Not only did we find a parking spot (a minor miracle), but the meter still had nearly three hours remaining. Wooohooo! Above is the fence on the back lawn of the museum. I am always impressed with it. No cross bars, just ten foot upright bars planted deep in the ground. (Most likely in cement, of course. I never think to look.) Just beyond the fence is the museum and the tar pits with their remains of ice age animals.

 

We walked through the courtyard on the way to the cafe. It’s a bit of tradition for us to fortify ourselves before each visit with a bit of outrageously expensive lunch. Today we dined healthy on salad and a shared vegan pizza.  Big mistake. Okay, peas are a vegetable, but they have no place on a pizza. Or maybe it’s just me. But the salad was quite good. Whoever runs this cafe really needs to visit the cafe at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum. Those folks know how to cook. A museum devoted to French artists happen to serve French food. Mmmmm, and no peas to be seen anywhere.

 

We decided to visit the museum’s Pavilion for Japanese Art. The translucent fiberglass panels allow gentle filtered light to enter and softly illuminate the collection of painted scrolls and screens.

 

The top floor of the pavilion is in the shape of a prow. Up here are displayed the oldest pieces in this particular collection. My personal favorites are the carved wood sculptures. They exude vitality and personality. Another favorite are the cloisonné enamel pieces, in which tiny compartments are created by soldering gold or silver wire onto the metal body of the object. The compartments are filled with enamel powder and then fired to create a glass like surface, which is then polished.